Wednesday (A conclusion for Erin Andrews) edition: Wha' Happened?

The Erin Andrews saga -- which kind of took a back seat when the world's greatest golfer became embroiled in the story of the decade -- seems to have reached a conclusion, at least from a legal standpoint. From the AP:

An Illinois insurance executive pleaded guilty Tuesday to secretly shooting nude videos of ESPN reporter Erin Andrews, who repeatedly called her stalker a sexual predator in court and said she hopes he "never sees the light of day."

Michael David Barrett pleaded guilty to interstate stalking after Andrews urged the judge to give him a harsh sentence and not allow him out on bail.

"His actions have had a devastating impact on me and my family," said Andrews, who attended the hearing with her father and attorney. She said she is constantly reminded that Barrett's videos appeared online, subjecting her to cruel taunts from sports fans while working as a sideline reporter. "I don't know him," she said. "I haven't met him. I hope he never sees the light of day."

U.S. District Judge Manuel Real allowed Barrett, of Westmont, Ill., to remain free pending sentencing on Feb. 22. A plea deal filed last week says prosecutors and Barrett agreed to a 27-month prison sentence. But the judge will decide how long he actually serves and how much restitution he will have to pay Andrews.

While we know no more of Andrews than what we gleaned from a couple of phone interviews in the past couple of years, we do know there was an absurd notion that she had choreographed and leaked the video for personal/professional gain. One gentleman sent me a long, well-constructed and utterly false e-mail detailing exactly how and why she would do it and why it was impossible there was someone secretly taping her. He was an insider in the "industry" of a certain kind of film-making. We traded a couple e-mails with him but never intended to run his theory because, well, in the end we just never believed it for a second.

Andrews was violated. That's the bottom-line truth. We can all only hope that at some point the "devastating impact" is lessened.

Michael Rand started RandBall with hopes that he could convince the world to love jumpsuits as much as he does. So far, he's only succeeded in using the word "redacted" a lot. He welcomes suggestions, news tips, links of pure genius, and pictures of pets in Halloween costumes here, though he already knows he will regret that last part. Follow @randball on Twitter.